Zealously
representing employees punished by employers

Sometimes
your most important job becomes caring for a
newborn, sick child, parent or other loved
one. The US Federal Government recognized
this more than 20 years ago when it put into
law that employees are entitled to take a
leave from employment to care for an
immediate family member suffering from a
serious health condition. Unfortunately, not
all employers are understanding and
cooperative about following the guidelines
and allowing you take time off to care for
them. Our New York employee rights attorneys
at
Hepworth, Gershbaum & Roth have fought
to uphold the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
since 1993. We tenaciously protect your
rights to take care of your family in times
of need.

What rights
does the FMLA provide for employees?

The main
inquiries that people have when they come to
our office are what types of leave are
protected by the FMLA and how long are the
leaves of absence allowed. The general rule
is that you have 12 workweeks of unpaid
leave (you can take 26 work weeks for caring
for a family member in the armed services)
from an employer that has 50 or more
employees. Employers must let you return to
work after your leave of absence or else
they face consequences. Our
employee rights attorneys help New York
families enforce the protections of the FMLA
so they are able to care for their loved
ones. We advise you of your rights and hold
employers accountable when they violate the
FMLA by not letting you take a leave of
absence for your family.

The FMLA
allows employees to take leave for:

The birth and care of a newborn

The adoption or foster care of a son or
daughter

Medical leave when you have a serious health
condition that makes you unable to work

Caring for a spouse, child or parent that
has a serious health condition

How does an
employer violate the FMLA?

Our
employee rights attorneys have seen it all
when it comes to employers in New York State
and across the US violating the FMLA. The
most outrageous and obvious violations occur
when employers terminate employees for
taking a leave of absence. Most employers
try to retaliate against you subtly.
Regardless of the type of retaliation, any
form of interference or discrimination based
on exercising your rights under the FMLA is
a violation of the law. Some of the most
common examples of FMLA violations include:

Requiring more notice for time off
than necessary — Employers are only
allowed to make up their own time off notice
policies if the time off is paid.

Cutting
off health insurance benefits —
Employers cannot cut off your insurance
policy for being late on an insurance
premium payment without giving you written
notice that you missed a payment.

Failure
to relay the proper information — There
is some information that employers have a
legal duty to tell you about when exercising
your FMLA rights.

Disciplining
or terminating an employee on leave —
Even subtle punishments like poor
performance reviews are a violation of the
FMLA.

Not recognizing that an employee
has given notice — As long as you tell
your employer that you need leave and it is
for a covered reason under the FMLA, then
you have given them proper notice.

Demoting
employees upon reinstatement — Even if
your position was filled while you were on
leave, you must be reinstated to an
equivalent position upon your return.

Failure
to give the same benefits upon reinstatement
— Upon your return, you must be
reinstated with the same benefits you had
before you went on leave and without delay.

However,
proving retaliation is difficult. It
requires a team of experienced,
detail-oriented employment law attorneys
like those at Hepworth, Gershbaum & Roth.

Call today to
schedule a free initial consultation with a
New York employee rights lawyer to discuss
your employer’s FMLA violations

When a loved
one needs care, the last thing you should
have to worry about is losing your job. The
New York FMLA violation attorneys at
Hepworth, Gershbaum & Roth protect your
rights and hold employers accountable when
they violate the FMLA. To schedule a free
initial consultation, call us at
212-532-3801 or
contact us online.

CONTACT US

Contact an employment law
attorney in New York today
for a free initial
consultation and determine
whether you have a case. For
a free initial consultation,
you can contact us online or
by phone.